Five traits no manager can do without

What makes a good manager? What are the characteristics of someone who is able to get the best out of their team and is respected by their subordinates? Here are five traits no manager can do without, regardless of their field or preferred management style.

Illustration

This article was published by BBC.com.

Willingness to support creativity

A manager should not expect their subordinates just to follow orders like robots. On the contrary: an effective manager should support creativity and subordinates' using their own initiative.

Ability to delegate work

Delegation of work sounds like the simplest thing in the world. In reality, however, it is a problem for a lot of people. Many managers are unable to explain to others what exactly they want from them, or they subconsciously believe only they themselves are able to do a job to the necessary quality.

Being casual

Theory is fine. Certainly it is good for a new manager to read some books about leadership. But at the same time, the manager should trust their own intuition and behave in a casual manner so their subordinates do not feel they are being managed by a robot that only follows theoretical advice from literature or training sessions.

Supporting strengths of individual employees

A good manager must be able to support their employees in what they are best at. They should be able to appreciate a job well done, and motivate others in focusing on what they enjoy and are good at.

Sense of humour

People management and team work bring a lot of humorous but also complex and critical situations. At all events, a manager should help their team stay on top of things and bring some humour into the team.



-mm-

Article source BBC - British Broadcasting Corporation
Read more articles from BBC